Nursing home ordered to improve as inspectors find care ‘falls short’

A NURSING home in Sheffield has been issued with an official warning notice after inspectors found elderly patients were not being properly protected from risk of abuse.

The Care Quality Commission said safety standards at Hazeldene Nursing Home had ‘fallen far short’ of those expected, after its inspectors visited the private facility in Poole Road, Darnall.

The 60-bed nursing home, which specialises in caring for elderly people with dementia, was told it had to improve as it was failing on four different counts.

Inspectors reported ‘major concerns’ after they found accidents and incidents of aggression involving vulnerable residents had not been reported. They also found managers were not properly responding to incidents of abuse.

Inspectors also had ‘moderate concerns’ about an increase in the number of accidents and incidents of aggression and found inconsistencies in the recording of incidents.

Jo Dent, the commission’s regional director, said: “The care supplied by this service has fallen far short of the standards people have a right to expect.

“It is clear improvements need to be made in relation to recruitment and support of staff members.

“We have told Hazeldene Nursing Home to provide an action plan showing how they will comply with the standards and we will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the necessary improvements are made and sustained.

“Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant – or face the consequences.”

Ms Dent said a second inspection revealed improvements had been made, and said Hazeldene’s owners S&S Health Care had been ‘working cooperatively’ with the commission.

But she added: “We will inspect again in the near future and if we find the home is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers on behalf of residents.”

Hazeldene manager Evangelista Jana said: “All these things came up as a result of a misinterpretation of the guidelines.”